05/27/2026
CREW Corner
Soccer, softball, and graduations….. OH MY!!
Spring going into summer seems to always be a very busy time in life for everyone. The weather warms up allowing for those outdoor activities and sports to begin. Vacations start and the campers come out of storage. While the numbers for the weekly CREW evenings have been a little lighter than through the cooler months, the kids and I have definitely stayed busy with fellowship and activities not limited to the walls of the church. I am a firm believer that while attending church in the building is important, it is more important to follow the example of Jesus out in the world. Christianity is a way of life and putting a time clock on it for only Sunday mornings inside a specific building defeats the entire premise. Our Lord is in everything that we do, everyone that we interact with, and how we portray ourselves to the world. We have an extremely great youth following developing, and to see them out of the church walls and being active in the community is a very rewarding opportunity. We have youth that play tennis at the high school level. We have many youth who run track, both at the middle school level and the high school level. We have several that play soccer. Additionally, softball and baseball have both started for the summer and have made my calendar look very full. Graduations have happened at all levels and their futures look promising.
Being able to bring ministry to these events has shown me how simple acts can make such a huge difference in someone’s life. I had a graduate at one level specifically text me to see if we were coming to the graduation ceremony. This particular person has had some things happen in their life where a bad decision or 2 could have easily derailed their path. Through the CREW program they were able to see that there are people who care about them. One particular softball game that we attended had many from our younger age group on the same team. As I was walking up to the stands to visit with some of their parents, I had the entire outfield stop, wave, and yell to the other players that I was there. Little moments like that make the planning, the cleaning up, and the many hours spent with and for our youth well worth it.
I want to take a moment to discuss our developing high school program as well. While getting consistent numbers will take more time, I have had several that come on a regular basis. I am enjoying the opportunity to get to know them more and more every time that we get together. I was able to attend their graduation and many of their parties. The evenings with them lately have been as much about overall fellowship and simply being there for one another. I am seeing new friendships develop. We have been spending some time in the kitchen, a simple yet rewarding act of making food together can bring closeness everyone craves. Lots of laughter has been occurring while making edible cookie dough, brownies, and many other items to come. We have been starting to get into some more difficult subjects during our discussions, and everyone wins when discussions are open. Recently my high schoolers have begun to help with our younger age CREW, and I found some of the results remarkable. One such evening I had one of the older high school girls lead the class with all middle school girls. I had finished with my group and went to check on her and her group. When I tell you that I have never heard these girls so quiet, I mean it. They had gotten into a serious discussion about mental health and the importance of taking care of oneself. I left the room so as to not interrupt the true fellowship and guidance that was being passed out. I kept all the others out of their room until they came out, which was well after everyone else was done, and even after the snack was prepared and done. If you know kids, then you know that it must have been meaningful for them to skip the food in lieu of lesson time. I left that evening feeling like differences were made, new friendships were made, and old friendships grew stronger.
As always, I truly appreciate the support that we have been receiving. I still get asked how people can help with the mission. Sometimes just being around and praising the kids and the program can help. There are times where I walk into the kitchen at the church and randomly there are snacks laying there with CREW listed on them. Candy, snacks, drinks, and even fruit are rarely not put to good use. Now, with the high schoolers enjoying cooking and baking so much, brownie mixes, cookie mixes, and other such items would be amazing. I have had several people say that they aren’t sure what to get, or don’t have the time, etc. I have honestly found from a planning standpoint, it’s almost easier to simply have an extra tithing given from the heart that goes straight to youth development and fellowship. Simple things like these allow for some barriers to be broken down while building new foundations for the future. I am very grateful for our church family and continue to look forward to the future and the possibilities that arise.
Brandon
